Other notable absentees were Guinean President Lansana Conté virtually Gbagbo's last foreign ally and Mauritanian President Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya who accuses Burkina Faso of backing a coup attempt against him in August...

President Lansana Conté is no great fan of his Ivorian counterpart and claims by Guinean opposition politician Jean-Marie Doré of a secret deal between the two leaders were denied by Ivorian government officials...

The former Directeur de Cabinet of Ivorian ex-Premier-turned-opposition-leader Alassane Dramane Ouattara Touré represents at 59 a younger generation than President Lansana Conté and his veteran opponents Alpha Condé (66) and Bâ (71)...

With a presidential election looming on 21 December Guinea's military high command has banned soldiers from carrying arms in the Samory Touré barracks ­ where President Lansana Conté has his Conakry residence ­ and in the Alpha Yaya Diallo army base...

The dynamic Soumah who has considerable appeal for younger voters and women has the support of Conakry Governor M'Bemba Bangoura and Karime Kane leader of Conté's support group the Comité d'Appui à l'Action de Lansana Conté but his early promotion might have seriously divided the ruling establishment...

In the run-up to the United States' invasion of Iraq when close ally Guinea's Security Council membership made it the focus of intense international interest ailing President Lansana Conté received treatment in Rabat (AC Vol 44 No 7)...